Agony
by BookSerpentess
Summary: ON PERMANENT HIATUS. One day, Theo's life changes when he encounters Hermione Granger wounded and helpless in an abandoned alley. But something happens – something he never expected to come out of it. Is it a curse – or a blessing? Theo will have to find out and see.
1. Confusion

**AGONY**

**Summary: One day, Theo's life changes when he encounters Hermione Granger wounded and helpless in an abandoned alley. But something happens – something he never expected to come out of it. Is it a curse – or a blessing? Theo will have to find out and see. AU, post-Hogwarts, doesn't follow the book after Battle of Hogwarts, kinda dark fic, rated T-and-later-possibly-M for violence, death and swearing and such. TN/DG, HG/TN, DM/HG. **

**(I suck at summaries. :S)**

**DISCLAIMER: The Harry Potter world does not lie in my possession, I only own this plot. **

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**CHAPTER 1- Confusion**

**A/N: Hullo! So I came up with this idea a few days ago and I'm now putting it onto my computer. I came up with it when I was just thinking about the ship Theomione… I recently started shipping it a few weeks ago. :D I love it, but… When I actually think about it, seriously… The Theo in MY head will not fall really exactly completely for Hermione. Well, the Theo in my head is practically a male version of me [his personality, of course]- reserved, not exactly so trusting, a loner, not really into blood prejudice and all. I think the Daphne Greengrass in my head would be more suitable for him. She was the Ice Queen of Slytherin, she still controls her emotions, beautiful, reserved, but opens up to Theo. They fit together… I imagine them as both damaged people coming together, giving comfort to each other. At least, that's what I think. So the ****main pairings are Theo/Daphne, but I just put it as Theo/Hermione because they're the main characters and most of the story will be told from their P.O.V., altering from time to time, but they don't end up together and be warned- unrequited love approaching!**** There'll be unrequited love between Dramione as well as Theomione! Don't forget, this is a story about tragedy. But don't worry… there'll be a fair share of humor too, whenever I **_**feel**_** like writing with humor. ;) Okay this is too long… I should stop. **

**Anyway, enjoy! Don't forget to REVIEW and follow + favourite this if you like it! :D **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Potter world and its characters, only the plot of this story. (: **

**In case you don't know – the scenes in italics are the flashbacks. The one-or-two words in the normal text are just some emphasis on the words. :3**

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**Confusion. **

Theodore Nott was in the middle of a mess.

Of course, it wasn't exactly _his_ fault he was in this situation; it was his wretched father's fault of his position.

Thaddeus Nott had never been a kind, nor compassionate, man.

When his beloved mother, who was the only person who offered Theo any sort of comfort or protection, passed away when he was nine – at the hand of her own husband – Nott Senior had taken over his son's life, and had sought to pluck any 'weaknesses' he noted in his son. No, he hadn't been allowed to cry over his mother's cold body. No, he hadn't been allowed to go out and play with his childhood Muggle friends at the small park near the Nott Manor. Whenever he failed to please his sick father, he was subjected to abuse.

And, so, at an early age, Theo had learned to shut down his emotions from the outside world, keeping them locked into his heart instead.

He'd yearned for death to someday steal him away from this torture of a life he was experiencing. He'd _wanted_ it so bad, damn it! What was the point of living anyway? He did _not_ want to follow in his father's cursed footsteps and become a slave to the Dark Lord. He did _not_ want to keep on living as if nothing was wrong and everything was right. He'd simply lost the will to live anymore. He walked around, an empty shell of the boy who was once Theodore Nott. He was just a shell with barely any more emotion left. He was damaged.

But all that simply stopped when Daphne Greengrass waltzed into his life.

She was beautiful; not just on the outside, but her heart was, too. They'd met on the first day of their first year, in the Hogwarts train, and they'd immediately became instant friends – something Theo didn't do very often.

_Theo stared around the space glumly. He was glad he'd be away from his sadistic father for a year, but he was hoping he could make some friends, maybe… But he was alone. _

_He sighed. Maybe he should take out one of his favourite books and continue it. He hadn't finished it last night – his father had caused so much racket during the night with his stupid drinking habits- _

_His thoughts were interrupted as the compartment door slid open to reveal a really pretty, blonde girl, with startling, piercing green eyes that seemed to see into his very soul. They stared at each other, him sitting frozen and her standing next to the door, for a few moments, before the girl finally broke the uncomfortable silence. _

"_May I sit here, with you?" she asked. _

_He blinked and nodded. "Yeah… sure." _

_She smiled – his heart nearly stopped; she looked ten times more beautiful with that smile on her face – and walked in, settling down on the seat opposite him. She turned her green graze on him again and he found himself unconsciously swallowing. _

"_What's your name?" he asked her curiously. _

"_Oops, I completely forgot about introductions!" she grimaced. "I'm Daphne Greengrass." She gave him _that _smile again. _

"_Theodore… Theodore Nott. You can call me Theo." He grinned at her, a little cautiously. _

_She cocked her head at him, still smiling. "Theo. I like your name." _

_He returned her smile, albeit a little shyly, but was saved from answering by the arrival of two boys bustling inside their compartment. _

"_Hey, Theo! Really! We had to look for you all over! D'you have to go and hide all the time?" the dark-skinned boy smirked at him, punching his shoulder. Theo glared. _

"_I was not _hiding_!" _

"_Admit it, you were," retorted the blonde boy who was the other boy's companion. He blinked and he suddenly noticed Daphne. "Greengrass! Hey!" _

_Daphne dipped her head, one eyebrow perfectly raised (Theo found his eyes lingering on her face again – he hadn't managed to perfect that eyebrow-raising-thing, yet!) at him. "Hello, Draco, Blaise." Her gaze transferred to the other boy. _

_Blaise smirked. "Still uptight as ever, Greengrass?" _

"_I'd rather call it dignified instead, Zabini." _

"_Pssh, Greengrass, you're uptight and you know it-" _

"_You seem to know each other well," Theo commented, interrupting, a slight prick of jealousy stirring in his chest. _

_Draco shrugged. "We met last month – at my Manor, of course – there was one of those parties that Mother holds all the time." He wrinkled his nose, then glanced at Theo, frowning. "Come to think of it, Mother invited the Notts, too. Why weren't you there?" _

_Theo frowned. "I don't know." Strange. _

_Then he realized. His father must've rejected the invitation, obviously. Sourness inflamed his heart for a moment, but Theo kept his face as carefully guarded, as always. _

_Daphne stared at him, as if she was trying to tell if he were lying or not, but the two other boys (who'd already taken seats next to Theo) seemed to drink in his lie. Daphne was definitely observant. _

"_Eh, you didn't really miss anything much anyway," said Blaise. "Just boooring dances and stuff, as usual." _

_Theo shrugged and nodded. He'd been to many of the Malfoys' parties before anyway. But he hadn't noticed Daphne in any of them before… Maybe they hadn't been invited? _

"_Hey, Theo," piped up Draco hopefully. "D'you think we'll be able to join the Quidditch team this year?" _

"_I highly doubt it," Theo began pessimistically. "We're only first years-" _

_He was interrupted, however, by the slamming open of the door. _

_The culprit was a bushy-haired girl with flushed cheeks as though she'd been running along the whole train. Huffing a little, she asked the group, "Hello, have any of you seen a toad? Neville Longbottom's lost his, its name is Trevor and it's quite stubborn, hiding from its poor owner-" _

_Her flustered yet at the same time quite bossy speech was interrupted by a scornful snort from Draco. "Why would we want to help a blood traitor find his filthy toad?" Blaise echoed Draco's scoff. _

_Theo had heard of the Longbottoms from his father before. Apparently they were a pure-blood family who didn't care a whit about blood supremacy and all that- they were neutral, really. He merely allowed his lip to curl slightly in pretense of agreement to what his friend had said. He didn't really support blood prejudice… But of course, he had to keep it to himself. _

_Then, he noticed that Daphne had not made a single sound. Instead she simply wore the most emotionless mask he'd ever seen. Her eyes were blank as she stared at the intruder of their compartment. Hmm… Did she support blood supremacy? he wondered. _

"_Blood traitor?" echoed the girl, frowning. "How is Neville a 'blood traitor'? He's really nice! He's just clumsy, but that doesn't really matter. What does that mean, anyway? And how does that affect the cleanliness of his toad-?" _

_Blaise sneered at her. "Save us your boring questions and run along and annoy some else, will you?" _

_The girl looked offended. To Theo's surprise, she turned her gaze to stare right at him. Her eyes were a nice shade of deep brown, but they looked nothing compared to Daphne's magnificent dark green. And then he noticed… She seemed to be pleading with him with her eyes, asking him to help her. _

_What the heck? Why did she want his help? It wasn't his or his friends' toad that was lost, it was some random clueless boy who was probably going to be the last in their year._

_Besides… He absolutely hated it when people stared at him, no matter in what way. He didn't really mind when Daphne watched him – it was quite soothing – but apart from her, any stare made ants crawl under his skin. It… it reminded him of his father staring at him when Theo had stood in his bedroom straight after watching his mother fall dead, staring at him hard with pure steel and hate in his eyes, and it reminded him of the way he'd thought to resist crying lest his father punish him again, even though that was the only thing he wanted to do._

_He pushed the memory away. _

_He stared back at the girl with real contempt this time, his lip curling a little. "What do _you_ want?" he spat. _

_She stared back at him, apparently startled, then her bottom lip quivered a little and she walked out of the compartment, slamming the door closed. _

_Theo blinked, confused. He'd caught the hint of a sob before the door closed. What did he say? Was she really that sensitive? Had what he said been really that hurtful? Or was he just really ignorant or something? He'd only asked her a question, for Salazar's sake! Girls were so confusing! _

_Draco clapped him on the back, smirking at him. "Good job, mate. You taught the Mudblood a lesson!"_

_He blinked. "She's a Mudblood?"_

_Draco shrugged. "Dunno, but she probably was." Turning to Blaise, he sniggered. "Did you see her face when Theo snapped at her?" _

_Theo felt a prick of guilt as he glanced away. Maybe he'd been a bit too harsh with her? _

_Thoughts of the girl had disappeared completely from his mind, however, as he looked up and met Daphne's surprisingly gentle green gaze. It seemed to be offering him reassurance, and he smiled at her a little. Somehow she seemed to know that he needed it. She returned the smile. _

_And he found himself losing himself in those mysterious emerald orbs all the way to Hogwarts, paying no heed to Draco and Blaise's random conversations. _

Later, Theo had discovered that the girl who'd intruded their compartment's name was Hermione Granger, and she was, indeed, a Muggle-born, true to Draco's prediction.

They hadn't talked much throughout their first year, him due to confusion and the fact he didn't really honestly care if they were friends or not, and her probably due to her perhaps being still hurt by his attitude on the train, or Salazar-knows-what-reason.

_But_ he'd noticed her eyeing him sometimes with a wary look in her eyes.

And to this day, Theo did _not_ know the reason why she'd acted so offended by his reaction to her plea for support in the train.

Their second, third, and fourth year was exactly the same as their first.

They had finally started talking – just a little – in their fifth year. It was in the library, and he was doing his Charms homework for the day after the next, so he could spend some extra time with Daphne in the common room.

_Theo frowned at his nearly essay in front of him. Sighing, he dipped the quill back into his ink jar, and – _

"_Hi." _

_Surprised at the voice – people didn't visit this particular secluded corner of the library very often – he toppled over his bottle of ink, and, to his dismay, it spilt over his essay. _

_He looked up and glared at the cause of the damage. To his surprise (which he covered up quickly), none other than Hermione Granger stared back at him guiltily. _

"_Oh, I'm so sorry!" she gasped, and walked forward, taking out her wand and pointing it at his essay, siphoning the spilt black ink off the essay and gathering it back into the jar. "I'm really, really sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you, I mean, I just wanted to talk, and, err, I guess I should've given you some warning-" _

_Theo raised an eyebrow (he'd finally managed to mimic it correctly from Daphne in third year). "Okay, I get it. It's fine. Thanks for clearing it." He put the quill back into the jar and rested it there. "What do you want? Sit down," he added, not forgetting the encounter in first year and not wanting something similar happening again._

_She sat opposite him, wringing her hands a little. "Thanks." _

_He nodded and watched her, leaning back in his chair. "Well… what do you want to have to say to me?" _

_His confusion rose up again and his skin pricked in the all-too-familiar discomfort when she merely stared at him. What was with this girl and staring? For someone who was known as smart, she wasn't acting very clever right now. She stared at him, as if trying to figure him out, and as if he was a very confusing puzzle._

_Then he noticed her gaze fall onto his lips and his eyebrows shot high up his forehead. _

_Was she checking him out or something?! _

_Once again, after five years, he found himself looking at her brown – still, of course, less beautiful than Daphne's - he noted that they weren't just brown, but chocolate brown. His eyes drifted slightly south and took in her lips – they weren't that bad – _

_Damn, he was stepping into dangerous territory. He reprimanded himself in his head. He had a girlfriend, for Salazar's sake! What the bloody hell was he doing?_

_He pulled his eyes back onto hers, glaring at her. "I _said_, what do you want, Granger?" _

_She seemed to snap out of her ridiculous trance at his harsh tone, and frowned, seemingly affronted. _

"_Well, if you don't want to talk, I'll just go-" _

_He clapped his hands over his face, infuriated. What did she expect for him to act like? All Mr. Polite over every single person? Sheesh. Were all Gryffindors like this? _

"_No, Granger," he growled, staring at her hard. "You can say what you want to say, _then _go away." _

_The annoying girl stopped pulling herself out of the chair and plopped back down on it, a grin tugging at her face. _

_And she burst into laughter. _

_Theo gaped at her incredulously. Was she mental or something? _

_She kept on laughing. He waited impatiently for her to finish. _

_She finally did, giggling a little, then she sat up straighter. _

"_Finished yet?" he growled. _

_She smirked at him – yes, she had the audacity to do that! – and nodded. _

"_Yeah, well…" _

"_Get on with it, Granger! I don't have all night, you know." _

_She rolled his eyes. _

"_Fine, calm down, Nott – really! I just wanted to chat a bit. I saw you sitting here, in _my_ usual place, so I just figured maybe I'd come here and join you doing my essays, too-" _

_He blinked. "Granger, this is _my_ usual place. _Your _usual place is on the other side of the library!" _

_Granger frowned at him. "No, it isn't."_

"_Yes, it is!" _

"_No, it _isn't_!" she shot back at him. _

"_It IS! For Salazar's sake, Granger-" he stood and pointed at the label at the nearest shelf. "You see that? 'Wizarding Classics'! _Your_ 'usual' place is near the 'Advanced Transfiguration' section, damn it!" _

_She stared at him. "How did you know that?" _

"_Because I was looking for a good place in first year and I liked that place but every time I came you very conveniently chose that place to sit so I had to go find another place and I found this spot, and I quite like this place, thank you very much - no one ever reads the Classics so there are less visitors, so I'd quite appreciate it if you go the hell away, Granger." He scowled at her (covering his embarrassment at being caught rambling aloud) and sat back down. _

_She scowled at him. "Why are you so snappish all the time?" _

_He huffed. He was tired of talking to Hermione Granger. This was the reason he did not often associate with Gryffindors unless he had to. "I'm not. It's just you typical Gryffindors being over-sensitive." _

"_I am _not_ over-sensitive! Nor is the rest of my house!"_

"_Feisty, Granger. Hate to disappoint you, but you and your lot _are_." _

_She rolled his eyes at him – what was it with her and rolling her eyes? – and finally backed down. "Fine, fine. This is _not_ my usual place." _

_He smirked at her. "Told you so, Granger. And I'm in a hurry, so don't really have the time to ask about your attempt to deceive me, and I'd appreciate it if you go away to your place instead and leave me." He looked down, picked up his quill again and positioned it over the now-dried parchment, starting to write again. _

_He heard her sigh, and pick up her bag again and stand up, but the sounds stopped. _

"_Truce?" _

"_What do you mean, truce?" Theo asked, without taking his eyes off his essay. _

"_I mean… that maybe we could be friends? Like, not be enemies-" _

"_When were we enemies? We don't even talk." _

_He heard her sigh again. "I mean, how about sometimes studying together, maybe? Just friends, I mean?" _

_Theo was confused. What did she really want with him? He'd always thought she and the rest of her bloody Golden Trio weren't interested in any of the Slytherins. _

_His lips thinned. "I agree about the truce, but not studying together. I prefer being alone, or with Daphne." They'd been together quite a long time now._

_When she didn't answer, he looked up at her, pausing writing his almost-one-sentence-left essay. _

_His curiosity was piqued when he found her scowling at him. _

"_What?" _

_She sighed. "Fine." _

"_You won't disturb me?" _

_She scowled at him, and he smirked again. "No." _

_He turned back to his essay. "Good." _

"_Good night, Theodore." _

"_G'night, Granger." _

After that… well, true to herword, she hadn't disturbed him anymore, except for the occasional 'hello', casual short chats in the library when they crossed paths, and acknowledging nods in the corridors later that year and right up to sixth year.

But she still stared at him.

And Theo still didn't know why.

_Not that I ponder on that much anymore, _Theo thought as he rounded the corner silently. _I've got better things to do._

And as if to outline this thought, a dreadful, drawn-out scream came from ahead of him.

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**Sooo? How was it? I definitely enjoyed writing this. I'm sooo gonna miss the holidays when they finish – I'll have to dig hard for time during school days. :/**

**Anyway – please REVIEW, AND FOLLOW + FAVOURITE if you liked it! ;D**


	2. Reluctant

**A/N: Chapter 2! Enjoy (: **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Potter world and its characters, only this plot. :3**

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**CHAPTER 2: Reluctant.**

Hermione rubbed her temples, wincing at her painful headache.

Each day got even more worse.

More Muggles were killed day after day, and each passed torturously slowly.

Some members of Order of the Phoenix were already weary. After four years of death and pain, they were ready to give up.

But _not_ Hermione.

She was not going to back out of this, not until Voldemort was dead and the deaths of Harry Potter and other innocents were avenged.

Even Ron was already ready to give up.

He'd been badly injured in the war, suffering many injuries. His leg was crippled, not letting him walk properly and making him unable to join in any of the duels with the death eaters – and the fact frustrated him to no end. Often he was moody and grumpy, snarling and lashing out at anyone who tried to console him.

Hermione could understand him, of course. But to someone with good intentions and who wanted to actually ask his opinion on something – it _was_ downright frustrating.

She still mourned Harry's death, until this day. He'd died, struck down by Voldemort himself, in the Battle of Hogwarts. And the rest of them? They were forced to flee like cowards.

They had _told_ him _not_ to go into the Forbidden Forest. But did he listen?

The Wizarding World was in shambles, and it was up to the Order to fix it.

But their chances seemed to be diminishing.

Some of the Order – like herself, Neville, Luna, Seamus, McGonagall, Remus, Molly, and some others – still kept hope, however. They were adamant that they would _not_ fail, and that if they did, they _would_ die trying.

And there was Malfoy.

He had come, three years ago, offering to turn spy for them. His reasoning was that his parents were dead – killed by Voldemort himself – and he wanted revenge. He did not want Voldemort to win at all. Apparently, he'd seen the light. They were all suspicious at first, but he seemed sincere.

He was useful and gave them valued information, a lot of which contributed to the victories the Order _did_ have. He tried his best, gave them time, postponed some of the Dark Lord's plans, and time to plan more.

The Order had grown to trust Malfoy and accepted him completely.

It took Hermione a year and a half to completely warm up to Malfoy. When he first joined, he had avoided Hermione, Ron and most of the younger Gryffindors, mostly talking to the elders like Arthur and Remus when he needed to pass on information. But after some time, he lost _some _of the snarkiness. He did, however, had his own good and bad days.

_Some._ Of course, it was too much to expect of Malfoy to lose his sarcasm. He simply wouldn't be 'Malfoy' without it. It still _was_ irritating though.

To this day, she wondered why it had been so easy to warm up to him. It was one of his good days when it actually started…

"_Hey, Granger." _

_She looked up sharply, frowning. "What do you want, Malfoy?"_

_He shrugged and walked further into the small room that contained the Orders' collections of valuable books that contained information such as healing spells, defense against the dark arts tips, and things like that. She was currently researching a bit on healing – the Order depended heavily on her for that, mostly. Luna helped, sometimes, but she knew more on the subject – her ambition, after all, had been to be a Healer. _

_She stared at him. "Malfoy-" _

"_I heard what you said, Granger." He turned and smirked at her. He let his glance flit over the tall pile of books , raising an eyebrow. "Really, Granger, you should take a break from all that bloody reading that you keep on doing. I don't even think you get any rest."_

"_Why do you care, Malfoy?" she snapped irritatibly. _

_He shrugged again. "Well, we wouldn't want to see our most valuable member dropping of exhaustion and not being able to function anymore, now, do we?" _

_She raised her eyebrows. "I _do_ rest, Malfoy. I'm just busy researching right now, in case you haven't noticed." She turned back to the book that lay on the table. _

_To her increasing annoyance, he walked up to the table and plucked the book straight off the table. When she sprang up with an unladylike snarl to reach for it, he pulled it high out of her reach. Huffing, she put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "What do you want?!" _

_He wore a cheeky grin that was probably made to provoke her. "Oh, I dunno, Granger… maybe for you to stop reading for once?" _

"_Never!" She pulled back her foot, and kicked him hard, in the shins. With a yelp, he dropped the book, and she caught it neatly before it hit the floor. She looked up at smirked at the look on his face gleefully. _

"_For Salazar Slytherin's sake, woman! What is it with you and violence?!" He hopped around on one foot, groaning exaggeratedly. _

"_Well, you forced me to use that option," she retorted, still smirking, turning and sitting back in the chair she'd hopped off. _

"_No, I didn't. Violence isn't _the_ solution, it's just _an _option__**1**__. A simple 'please, Draco, could you give me back my lovely, beloved book?' would've sufficed. It's called manners, Granger." _

_She rolled his eyes at him__**2**__ and opened up the page she'd stopped on – thank Godric that somehow she'd remembered or Malfoy would have more injuries to mar his precious, albino skin – before Malfoy huffed at her. "Really, Granger! Didn't you hear what I said earlier?"_

"_No, Malfoy, I didn't," Hermione said airily, in a way that Luna would've said it. "I didn't. Pray, could you please repeat your statement?" _

"_Finally you've found your manners, Granger!" _

_She turned and glared at him. "I _do_ have them, Malfoy! Why should I waste them on _you_?" _

_He offered that stupid smirk again (damn, what was it with Slytherins and smirking?!). "Oh, let me think…" he put on a sarcastic tone. _

_She cut him off before he could say some snarky comment again. "Well, like I said, Malfoy, please get the hell out so I can continue. We've already wasted so much time!" _

_He snorted and walked over to her. "Well, Granger… Before I leave you in peace to continue your precious obsession…" _

"_What, Malfoy?!" _

_He smirked (again!). "Come have tea with me in half an hour," he prompted. _

_Hermione gaped at him. _

"_Really Granger, you should close your mouth, it's not that flattering a sight."_

_After sending him a fierce scowl that would make most people flinch – but he didn't, damn him – she sighed. "Why?" _

_Malfoy rolled his eyes. "For a break, Granger." _

_She rolled her eyes, mocking him. "And I don't get a say in whether I can come or not, right?" _

"_Nope," said Malfoy cheerfully. "You don't. It's either you say yes and I go out and leave you in quiet for thirty minutes or I nag you 'till you agree." _

_She grumbled. "Fine, Malfoy." _

"_Good." He sent her another smirk. "Don't get your bushy nest your call hair get too buried into that book of yours and forget, or I'll be forced to come and grace you with my presence." _

_And with that, he walked out, leaving her glaring at him._

_She was confused she hadn't acted as indifferent to his presence as she usually did. _

_Then, suddenly… _

"_Malfoy, wait, come back!" _

_He appeared at the door, looking bored. "What, Granger? I'm not going to help in your yawn-prompting research, you know, I'll be derived of breaks and rest while doing so-" _

_She scowled at him. "That wasn't what I was going to ask." _

"_Well, what did you want to ask?" He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively at her and she had to suppress a grin. _

"_Why are you being so nice to me?" _

_Malfoy cocked his head at her and then gave a mysterious smirk, before swaggering out again – ignoring her question. She scowled again. _

They certainly were friends now. And six years ago, if anyone had told her that Malfoy and Hermione would be friends, she would've sent them straight to St. Mungo's. But they _were_ friends, whether she believed it or not.

They talked quite often; having their usual playful banter as well as well as discussing seriously about the Order's plans. They were the Order's top two strategists and everyone usually depended on them.

She'd considered Malfoy a few times in a sexual manner, she had to admit – what girl wouldn't? Hermione knew he was handsome, with stormy silver eyes that she could admire sometimes.

But she knew she'd never be in love with him, because her heart belonged thoroughly to someone else.

And that person was Theodore Nott.

She never really intended for it to happen, but it did.

It started in first year – when they'd met in his train compartment, with his Slytherin friends.

Malfoy, back then always the bully, and Zabini, had been sneering at her and the girl with them – whose name, later she learned, was Daphne Greengrass – stared at her expressionlessly, but, she noticed Theodore watching her with a _false_ sneer.

_False. _

When her gaze had fallen on his eyes, she'd been mesmerized by them. They were dark blue – an unusual colour, she noted – and she had stared into the pools of depth, she saw that they swam with hidden emotions that were clearly locked inside his heart. She couldn't read those emotions and ached to know what he was thinking; what he was feeling. She'd wondered – foolishly – if they could be friends. Then perhaps she'd unlock him and understand him properly. Maybe they could be studymates, perhaps? He looked quite intelligent and she had wondered what was his name. She wondered… maybe he would help her find poor Neville's toad? Maybe he'd stand up to the boys in his compartment?

But all those thoughts had disappeared into air as he stared back with _real_ malice in those eyes she'd admired.

_Real_.

Her heart had tightened in her chest, and she immediately ran out like a little girl, tears gathering in her eyes. She had swiped at her eyes furiously once she'd slammed the door to their stupid compartment shut. She couldn't believe that she actually thought that anyone who was hanging out with such nasty people would help her.

_What was I thinking? _she'd thought miserably. _How could I have been so foolish?!_

She'd stood up straight and blinked away the rest of the moisture in her eyes.

Later, after they'd got out of the train and walked into the Great Hall of Hogwarts, when they were sorted, she learned that the boy was called Theodore Nott.

He was sorted in Slytherin.

She'd remembered miserably that she had heard someone mention that most dark wizards came out from Slytherin, and so she'd thought that it was not really much of a surprise that he was so nasty…

Hmm. But that didn't really mean they couldn't be friends someday, couldn't it? She could still have some hope.

She had watched him at the Slytherin table, talking with a smile to the girl she'd seen in his compartment. She noticed that he seemed to be quite close to her…

And to her horror, Hermione had felt jealousy rising in her gut. Of course, she had tried her best to squash it down and forget about Theodore for a while, at least.

She didn't really succeed and scowled. She turned away then, turning to Percy Weasley, asking him about the surly-looking professor she'd noticed earlier.

She had watched him throughout the years, not really plucking up the courage to talk to him. She didn't know whether he was aware of her staring or not, but she suspected he didn't. Or at least she hoped. It would be embarrassing if one day he asked her, "Granger, why are you always staring at me?" She'd grimaced at the thought.

She'd _almost_ talked to him one day in fourth year, though… He was in the library (in his usual spot) reading the Potions book Snape had instructed the class to read by the week after the next. She had been watching him behind a shelf, with great nervousness.

Hermione had managed to pull herself up to full height, think '_Okay, I can do this. Gryffindor courage, remember?_' and was _just_ about to come out from her hiding place – when Daphne Greengrass to conveniently strolled out from the middle of nowhere and sat down next to Theo, effectively distracting him with a smile.

She had fumed in perfect silence. Her fury was only even more inflamed when the object of Hermione's intentions kissed Daphne full on the mouth with passion, abandoning the Potions book on the table and pulling his hands around her neck.

Her jealousy returned, full force, and Hermione had stomped out of the library, ignoring the many stares she got from her fellow students.

And then she'd stopped, rigid in horror, right in the middle of an empty corridor, and the fact she'd been ignoring was so obvious to her at the moment:

She was madly in love with Theodore Nott.

Who probably only had feelings of indifference towards her.

After all, why should he notice a Mudblood Gryffindor who had ran out of his compartment like a frightened little child?

Hermione had immediately ran, the fastest she could run, back to her dorm, once again ignoring the puzzled stares around her, including Ron's call, and pulled the curtains around her bed, charming them with a charm for privacy, before throwing herself onto her pillow and wailing her heart out into it.

She bit her bottom lip now thinking back of the glum memory.

Hermione still wished she'd fallen in love with someone else – _anyone else_ – heck, she could bear with even Ronald for the rest of her life. She knew Theo would never turn his eyes, with the emotion she wanted from him, on her. She had watched him many times and knew he was head-over-heels in love with the elder Greengrass, and the girl loved him right back.

Her love life was one of her few failures in her life. And Hermione absolutely _hated_ failure with all of her being. Of course, when to came to love, she couldn't really do anything, could she?

So, well… she was reluctantly in love with Theo Nott.

And she hated it.

But loved it at the same time. Urgh. What type of sick masochist was she?

Hermione blinked the gloomy memories and thoughts away, sighing, and glanced at the clock, before immediately shooting up. It was five minutes to four o'clock.

Four was the time when Theo always passed on his Death Eater rounds somewhere near the safe house every week (without even realizing the safe house was there, of course, as it was under the Fidelius Charm).

It was one of the days that she could watch him for a while, make sure he was fine, before getting back to her life.

She grabbed her coat and pulled it on, walking quickly but quietly to the front door, making sure no one saw her.

She crossed the garden and, taking in a deep breath, glanced around. No one.

Casting a strong Disillusionment Charm on herself, she crossed the wards. The air quivered around her and as she glanced back, the safe house was invisible.

Satisfied with her stealth, she then proceeded to the abandoned town nearby, walking into an alley and hiding behind a huge metal box previously used as a rubbish bin, just in case.

With a twinge of sadness, she remembered that a few months ago, the Muggles here had been murdered brutally by an army of the Death Eaters, led by Alecto Carrow.

She bit her lip again – it was already a bit bruising from all the biting, it was a habit she couldn't get rid of – and glanced at her watch.

Four o'clock.

Feeling a twinge of excitement as she heard a rustle nearby, she double-checked the Charm, making sure she couldn't be seen, and smiled a little as someone came into view.

But her smile dropped immediately and her eyes widened.

This was _not _Theodore!

A shiver temporarily took her, and she stared at the figure in dismay. She gripped her wand tightly and pressed herself against the cold metal of the box, praying he would go away, fast.

Her prayer wasn't answered.

A masked face loomed over her, and a sickening feeling took control of her as she realized he could _see_ her.

He raised his wand, and the last thing she felt was pain.

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**A/N: Chapter 2 was quite hard to write – I had to remember I was writing in a Gryffindor's Point Of View - specifically, **_**Hermione**_**'s P.O.V., and I don't think that way, so I tried to change everything I thought to almost the opposite. Was it convincing enough? :/**

**Please REVIEW, AND FOLLOW + FAVOURITE if you liked it! (: **


	3. Surprise

**A/N: New chapter! I'm SO sorry for the delay. It's just, school's coming up next week for me – so don't expect an update every day, so, if I can't update at least twice in a week, then I guess I'll update every Saturday. (: **

**I know this one is really really stupidly short for this fanfic… But, well, sorry. The next chapter – which I'll put up A.S.A.P. – will be longer, I promise! **

**Enjoy! :3**

******DISCLAIMER: The Harry Potter world does not lie in my possession, I only own this plot.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 3: Surprise**

Theo jumped silently, surprised, and whipped out his wand, staring with his navy blue eyes narrowed ahead. _What was that?_

Was someone being tortured?

Cautiously, he edged ahead carefully among the side of the ruined side walk.

He heard a series of small whimpers, then silence. It came from an alley ahead.

He strode forwards mutely until he reached the alley. Taking a deep breath and tightening his grip on his wand, he stepped into it.

His eyes instantly fell upon a bloodied female body lying on the ground right in front of him. One of her legs was splayed at an awkward angle – Theo was very sure it was broken – and he winced when he saw blood still seeping out from a gash in his side. His gaze lifted to her face, and took in a breath as he recognized her.

Hermione Granger.

He felt shock stab him in his stomach. There hadn't been sight of any Order members for months – they had all kept down, under secure cover.

How could she have been so foolish as to have come out of her hiding place?

Shutting off any more thoughts, Theo cast a Disillusionment Charm upon the alley so no one could intrude, and dropped to his knees beside her.

He murmured a spell to seal the gash in her side and tapped his wand on her broken leg gently, binding it so it wouldn't move until he brought them to somewhere safer. He examined her a bit, checking that there weren't any more serious injuries. After muttering "_Tergeo" _to clean up any evidence that him or Granger had been there, he picked up her limp form slowly, making sure not to re-open the gash, and she let out a small whimper.

Theo glanced around to double-check, then Apparated away.

He arrived back in the bedroom one of his safe homes – the one that only himself, Daphne, Draco and Blaise knew of – and settled her comfortably on the bed. He frowned and set back to healing the rest of Granger's scratches and bruises. By the look of it, she'd been beaten badly and had endured several curses. He had to doubt that one of those curses had been _Crucio_ – her throat, when he checked it, was sore, probably from screaming. Thank goodness she hadn't been raped – Theo had no idea what to do for that, not to mention the awkwardness when it came to healing something so sensitive. No doubting that she was a virgin too, from being the Prude Gryffindor Princess back at school. He felt bile rise in his throat, but swallowed it away.

Who attacked her wasn't a Death Eater, Theo was sure. A Death Eater would've been ecstatic to find one of the Order members – a prominent one, at that – and would have brought her to Voldemort or one of his closest inner circle.

The attacker had probably just taken out his sadistic anger out on Granger. They must have been one of the pure-blooded non-Death Eaters who _detested_ Muggle-borns and were frequently attacking the ones that were left.

And of course, no one did anything to stop the attacks.

Theo stood up again and gazed down at the figure on the bed. He should tell Daphne – quick. She'd be wondering where he was by now, anyway.

Snatching up one of the tiny pieces of parchment he kept for emergencies, he wrote a quick note for the unconscious girl, informing her of her condition and that he'd gone back to his home for a while before returning. He folded the paper and tucked it into her curled hand, before quickly exiting and approaching the fireplace.

Theo owned two safe houses. There was this one, and the one which only he and Daphne knew where it was located. Draco and Blaise did not know where it is, only the fact that it existed.

He knew it was selfish of him to keep a weak Hermione Granger in _this_ particular home, where there were possibilities of her getting found and captured, but he did not, under any circumstances, want Daphne's life to be endangered. He knew Draco and Blaise would not betray him – he trusted them with his life – but he wanted to take the most precautions that he could.

Eyeing everything carefully, he quickly Apparated to his and Daphne's home…

… And staggered, about to fall, but not before a pair of arms steadied him carefully.

Theo straightened, flushing. "Sorry. I keep doing that."

She smirked at him – it was so refreshing to just _look_ at her – and stepped closer to him and reaching up, kissing him softly. "What's wrong? You only falter in your Apparating when you're worried."

He took one of her hands into his and grimaced. "I found Hermione Granger, injured."

Daphne's eyebrows raised a little. She didn't seem surprised, but, then again, it was difficult to shock her. "And, I suppose, you've healed her and left her at our other safe house?"

"Yeah." He ran a hand through his brown hair, messing it up a little, and groaned. "I found her in an alley – she had a bad tear down her side and a broken leg. I guess one of the pureblood extremists did it. What was she _thinking_? She's Hermione bloody Granger! I thought she had a reputation for being _clever_? She's an Order member, for Merlin's sake, she _knows_ that the Death Eaters have been looking for her for months!"

Daphne shrugged, softly running her thumb over his knuckles. "Well, Theo, perhaps her reckless Gryffindor tendencies kicked in and she just ventured out." She gazed up at him. "She's not conscious?"

Theo shook his head.

She pulled him closer and stepped on tiptoe. "Well, I suppose you'll have to ask her later, when she wakes up." She paused, her lips hovering over his a while. She kissed him, slow and gentle, her lips soft and pliant. All thought fled away from Theo's mind, and he threaded his hands through her silky hair, kissing her back thoroughly, taking control of the action.

Then Daphne pulled away and a whine escaped his throat. "What?"

She smirked maddeningly again. "You have an injured patient at the other safe house, remember?"

Theo grumbled. "Right. Fine. But I'm not finished with you."

His sneaky fiancée smiled teasingly at him and raised her eyebrows. "Well, go on, then."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm going, I'm going."

Theo gave her one last smile, lifted his wand and Apparated out.

* * *

**A/N: How was it? Review and tell me your opinion. :D Follow + favourite if you liked it, please! :3 **


	4. Shock

**New chapter! ;) Enjoy! And excuse the language, please. :P**

******DISCLAIMER: The Harry Potter world does not lie in my possession, I only own this plot.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Shock. **

_Eyes. _

_Eyes everywhere… _

_Watching her… _

_Blood pounded in Hermione's ears. Her palms were damp with sweat. Her heart was slamming against her chest in pure, uncontrolled fear. She stared around her, shivering. _

"_W-who are you?" she gasped out. _

"_Why, _darling_," leered a face, coming out of the shadows, staring right at her. Her racing heart shot to her throat."I think you know me very well." _

"_Th-Theo?"_

_He merely laughed – a cruel sound. Hermione's eyes widened. _

"_Theo, s- stop it," she said, shakily. "You're scaring me!" She backed into the tree – only to discover it wasn't a tree. It was a lean chest. She gasped again and whipped around, to see – Malfoy, staring at her with a disgusted sneer she hadn't seen in a few years now._

"_What are you looking at, Mudblood?" He shoved her, and she fell, collapsing down at his and Theo's feet –helpless. _

"_N-no…" she croaked. _

"_Yes," hissed Theo, aiming at her side with a hard kick. She groaned and curled away, tears stinging her eyes. Her heart cracked. _

_Theo leaned down to her, and she stared up at him, a pathetic plea in her brown eyes. "Th-Theo…" _

_He merely smirked, and lifted his wand – but not at her – he pointed it elsewhere, and she looked up, only to meet Ron's weary eyes. _

"_Ron!" Hermione cried, but a moment later, and he dropped dead, right next to her. She stared, anguished, at his body. _

_Theo tsked at her – mocking her – and that was when she saw the pile of bodies lying across the clearing, and Hermione gasped, tears trickling out of her eyes. _

_Dead. Lifeless eyes staring at her. __Neville. Luna. Professor McGonagall. Molly Weasley. And some other old students she'd gone to school with – Hermione's heart constricted tightly – _

_She wished she couldn't feel. _

_Her parents._

_Tears flowed freely. _

_She met Theo's eyes again. "Why?" she whispered. _

_He smirked again, and his face screamed of cruelty. _

_There was laughter, and then – _

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

Hermione sat up with a jolt, her chest heaving and her body covered in sweat. She clutched her face with her shaking hands, gasping. A wet, salty tear slipped onto her dry, chapped lips, and she brushed it away. Her breath heaved and she shook again, a sob snatching hold of her for a while, before she swallowed it down, hard. She took her hands down from her face and blinked, slowly taking in her surroundings.

She was on a bed.

She was in a bedroom.

She was in a bedroom that looked very much more masculine than feminine.

She was in a house she had never been in before in her life.

She was panicking.

Then she realized – she'd been attacked by a stranger. She grimaced, and suddenly she became aware that her body was aching, and one of her legs were burning a little. She groaned.

She glanced around, her heart pounding, searching for any clue that she could find out whose house exactly this was – and then she saw it, when she looked down the side of the bed.

A note. A little crumpled, and lying there on the floor, as if for her. Hermione gingerly reached down, wincing, and picked it up.

She gasped.

_Dear Granger, _

_You are currently in one of my safe houses. You don't have to worry; no one except those I trust can enter. I've healed all of your injuries. I'll be back soon. _

_Drink the potion on the bedside table. Don't worry, it isn't poisoned. It'll ease your aches and pains. _

_See you soon, _

_Theodore Nott. _

The note fluttered out of her grip, and down the side of the bed, onto the floor. She was still gaping at it. What luck she had! Apparently Theo was probably late in doing his Death Eater rounds and had come across her.

A giddy feeling came up in her chest. She knew she was acting like a teenager right now; but she hadn't spoken to the love of her life for years, surely she could act as she wanted for a little while. She could trust him – right? She pushed the nightmare to the back of her mind.

She looked at the small bottle of Theo's potion on the table next to her and picked it up, gazing down into it before swallowing it up. Immediately, from her head right down to the tips of her toes, her pains and aches seemed to go.

Hermione carefully picked herself off the bed, clutching the bedpost tight. Gingerly, she stood, her legs wobbly and her knees trembling a little – and, she was ready to let the bedpost go –

… until a _crack!_ sounded, and she gasped, toppling over – not before hearing a confused sound of surprise – and crashed to the floor. Blinding pain shot up her broken leg and she groaned, blinking tears away from her eyes.

"_Fuck_, Granger, what are you doing here?"

_MALFOY? What was he doing here?! _

Gentle-yet-rough hands scooped her up and Malfoy set her back on the bed. Hermione looked up into his gray eyes, and was taken aback by the sheer strength of the anger in his eyes.

He glared at her. "Did you hear what I said? Granger, what the bloody hell are you doing here?"

She scowled up at him and rubbed her aching leg. "I just woke up, Malfoy, there's no need for such coarse language."

"Whatever," he snapped. "You didn't answer my damned question!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "I was ambushed and attacked, and Theodore found me and brought me here."

Malfoy sneered at her. "And _where _were you, exactly?" His anger seemed heighten. His silver, mercurial orbs flashed. He loomed over her, putting his face up close to her, and forcing her to lay back to avoid the close proximity of their bodies. He didn't seem to notice, and there was a strange glint in his eyes that she couldn't identify.

"The Order are fucking out of their minds with worry! What the hell were you thinking? Were you OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?" he roared at her, and she flinched. He tossed his hands up. "YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN _KILLED_! FUCKING _KILLED_, GRANGER!"

Hermione pushed at his chest, but he didn't even budge. She glowered at him. "I _was_ thinking, Malfoy-"

"Oh, you were _thinking_!" he said sarcastically. Malfoy took her wrists in his hands, stopping her futile attempts to put space between them, and pushed her hands on the either sides of her head.

"What happened to that fucking _Gryffindor_ selflessness, Granger? Didn't you realize what the Order would be without you?" His fingers pressed into her wrists, almost painfully. "_Nothing_, Granger. Nothing. And the Dark Lord would win this battle we're already _almost_ losing." Hermione opened her mouth to speak, her heart racing madly, but Malfoy shook his head and snapped, "I'm fucking talking, Granger. Do you realize what danger you're putting Theo in right now? He's sheltering you, an Order member, in his _home_, instead of throwing you to the Dark Lord – he could get _killed_ for doing this, Granger. And what would Daphne do without him?"

Hermione blinked. "What has Daphne to do with Theo?" She couldn't stop the slight pang of jealousy in her heart.

"They're engaged," Malfoy snapped, and her heart dropped down to her feet. Hermione bit her lip.

"You weren't thinking, Granger, admit it," he said, staring down at her, anger still glimmering in his eyes. "So tell me, what exactly were you thinking, venturing out?"

She glared up at him, refusing to answer; instead she twisted from side to side, trying to release his firm grip on her.

The act seemed to only infuriate him further.

"Fuck it all, Granger!" he snarled. "Tell me! _Why_?"

Pain thudded at her heart, and she bit her lip, shaking her head, not wanting to tell him. To her dismay, she felt tears welling up in her eyes – and when they did, Malfoy abruptly released his grip on her.

She couldn't look at him – why had her eyes chosen to shed tears at this moment?

_Why?_

She hated it.

Another _crack!_ of Apparition sounded, and, her heart skipping a beat, Hermione looked up to gaze at the set of deep blue eyes that haunted her dreams every night, every day, and every moment.

* * *

**A/N: How was this chappie? :3 It's kinda short… Isn't it? *sighs* I'm kinda sleepy. My eyes are drooping. *yawn* Anyway… **

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW, PLEASE! And for new readers, PLEASE favourite + follow this fanfiction, if you liked it! :D Admiring comments & criticism both embraced. ;) **


	5. Author's Note

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hi, guys. Yes, I know, I know, I haven't updated this story. My mind is a constant jumble and ideas are evading me and my exams are just around the corner and my teachers have fallen irreversibly in love with the idea of projects.

In case you've been waiting for an update, I'm just saying, the next update will _probably_ be in December. I'll try my best.

In the meantime, if you like Theo & Daphne, you can check out the story in my profile called 'Maybe we can stop time?', and if you like Dramione, or at least tolerate it, could you please give 'Feline Love' a try too? _Please_? ;3

Thanks!


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